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What is an AS4 profile?

An AS4 profile is a set of constraints layered on top of the base AS4 specification. While AS4 defines the general message format and security framework, a profile narrows the choices — mandating specific signature algorithms, encryption strengths, party identifier formats, service/action values, and PMode defaults. Examples of constraints a profile can impose:
  • Which signing algorithm to use (e.g. RSA-SHA256 or ECDSA-SHA256)
  • Whether encryption is required or optional
  • The exact format of party identifiers (e.g. iso6523-actorid-upis::0088:...)
  • Which SOAP version to use
  • Whether receipts must be sent and how (synchronous or asynchronous)

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IAS4Profile interface

All profiles implement the IAS4Profile interface: 
public interface IAS4Profile extends IHasID<String>, IHasDisplayName {

    // Returns the profile's unique string identifier (e.g. "peppol", "cef")
    String getID();

    // Returns the human-readable display name (e.g. "Peppol", "CEF (four corner)")
    String getDisplayName();

    // Returns an optional compatibility validator, or null if no validation is performed
    IAS4ProfileValidator getValidator();

    // Creates a PMode template for the given parties and address.
    // The returned PMode is NOT registered in the manager yet.
    PMode createPModeTemplate(
        String sInitiatorID,
        String sResponderID,
        String sAddress         // nullable
    );

    // Returns the PMode ID provider for this profile
    IPModeIDProvider getPModeIDProvider();

    // Returns true if this profile is deprecated
    boolean isDeprecated();

    // Returns true if Ping messages should be passed to the SPI handler
    boolean isInvokeSPIForPingMessage();
}

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Supported profiles

Peppol

Profile ID: peppol
Module: phase4-profile-peppol
Used on the Pan-European Public Procurement Online (PEPPOL) network for electronic invoicing, ordering, and catalogue exchange.

CEF eDelivery (four corner)

Profile ID: cef
Module: phase4-profile-cef
European Commission Connecting Europe Facility four-corner model. Also used for EUDAMED.

CEF eDelivery (two corner)

Profile ID: cef-two-corner
Module: phase4-profile-cef
Variant of the CEF profile for two-party exchanges without intermediate access points.

BDEW

Profile ID: bdew
Module: phase4-profile-bdew
German energy sector data exchange standard (Bundesverband der Energie- und Wasserwirtschaft).

ENTSOG

Profile ID: entsog
Module: phase4-profile-entsog
European Network of Transmission System Operators for Gas — cross-border gas transport data exchange.

EuCTP Push

Profile ID: euctp-push
Module: phase4-profile-euctp
EU Customs Trade Platform — push variant.

EuCTP Pull

Profile ID: euctp-pull
Module: phase4-profile-euctp
EU Customs Trade Platform — pull variant.

DBNAlliance

Profile ID: dbnalliance
Module: phase4-profile-dbnalliance
North American B2B document exchange network (Digital Business Networks Alliance).

HRE-Delivery

Profile ID: hredelivery
Module: phase4-profile-hredelivery
HR electronic delivery profile.

eDelivery AS4 2.0 EdDSA

Profile ID: edelivery2-eddsa / edelivery2-eddsa-two-corner
Module: phase4-profile-edelivery2
Next-generation eDelivery profile using EdDSA (Ed25519/Ed448) signatures and X25519 key agreement.

eDelivery AS4 2.0 ECDSA

Profile ID: edelivery2-ecdsa / edelivery2-ecdsa-two-corner
Module: phase4-profile-edelivery2
Next-generation eDelivery profile using ECDSA signatures and ECDH-ES key agreement.
EUDAMED uses the CEF four-corner profile (cef). The phase4-eudamed-client module provides EUDAMED-specific sender helpers on top of the CEF profile.

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Profile registration via SPI

Profiles are discovered at startup using the Java ServiceLoader mechanism (SPI). Each profile module places a META-INF/services/com.helger.phase4.profile.IAS4ProfileRegistrarSPI file on the classpath that points to its registrar class. The AS4ProfileManager calls all discovered IAS4ProfileRegistrarSPI implementations during initialization: 
// IAS4ProfileRegistrarSPI — implemented once per profile module
public interface IAS4ProfileRegistrarSPI {
    void registerAS4Profile(IAS4ProfileRegistrar aRegistrar);
}

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Writing a custom profile registrar

If you need a custom profile, implement IAS4ProfileRegistrarSPI and register it: 
public final class MyProfileRegistarSPI implements IAS4ProfileRegistrarSPI {

    public static final String AS4_PROFILE_ID = "my-custom-profile";
    public static final String AS4_PROFILE_NAME = "My Custom Profile";

    @Override
    public void registerAS4Profile(@NonNull final IAS4ProfileRegistrar aRegistrar) {
        final IAS4ProfilePModeProvider pModeProvider =
            (initiatorID, responderID, address) ->
                MyCustomPMode.createPMode(initiatorID, responderID, address);

        aRegistrar.registerProfile(
            new AS4Profile(
                AS4_PROFILE_ID,
                AS4_PROFILE_NAME,
                MyCompatibilityValidator::new,
                pModeProvider,
                IPModeIDProvider.DEFAULT_DYNAMIC,
                false,  // not deprecated
                false   // do not invoke SPI for ping messages
            )
        );
    }
}
Then create the SPI service file: 
# src/main/resources/META-INF/services/com.helger.phase4.profile.IAS4ProfileRegistrarSPI
com.example.MyProfileRegistarSPI

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Accessing profiles at runtime

// Access the global profile manager
IAS4ProfileManager profileMgr = MetaAS4Manager.getProfileMgr();

// List all registered profiles
ICommonsList<IAS4Profile> profiles = profileMgr.getAllProfiles();

// Look up a specific profile by ID
IAS4Profile peppolProfile = profileMgr.getProfileOfID("peppol");

// Get the count of registered profiles
int count = profileMgr.getProfileCount();

// Create a PMode template from a profile (not yet registered)
PMode template = peppolProfile.createPModeTemplate(
    "sender-id",
    "receiver-id",
    "https://receiver.example.com/as4"
);

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Setting the default profile

phase4 reads the default profile ID from the phase4.default.profile configuration key. Set it in your application.properties or phase4.properties: 
# application.properties or phase4.properties
phase4.default.profile=peppol
Retrieve the configured default profile ID at runtime: 
String defaultProfileId = AS4Configuration.getDefaultAS4ProfileID();
The default profile is used as a fallback when phase4 cannot resolve a specific profile from the incoming message. Setting it explicitly prevents the runtime warning “No AS4 profile is registered” that appears when no profile module is on the classpath.